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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, On March 6, 2008, Brett Lorenzo Favre officially
3 retired from the National Football League after 16 years as a
4 Green Bay Packer; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Favre embodied the heart and soul of the NFL with
6 his workmen-like approach, his gun slinging mentality, his
7 childlike enthusiasm, and his love for the game; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Brett Favre completed his 17-year career as the
9 National Football League's all-time leader in every
10 significant career passing category, including touchdowns
11 (442), completions (5,377), attempts (8,758), yards (61,557),
12 and wins (160); and
 
13     WHEREAS, With 160 victories as quarterback, Brett Favre
14 ranks 1st ahead of John Elway (148) and Dan Marino (147); and
 
15     WHEREAS, During an NFL game on September 20, 1992, Brett
16 Favre replaced an injured Don Majkowski; when Favre entered the
17 game midway thorough the fourth quarter, Green Bay trailed
18 20-10; the Packers won the game 24-23 with Favre directing an
19 88-yard touchdown drive and a game-winning march capped by a
20 35-yard touchdown to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining;
21 Favre started the following week and every other for the next

 

 

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1 16 years; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Upon taking over the reins as the Green Bay
3 Packers signal caller on Sept. 20, 1992, Brett Favre has
4 started the ensuing 275 contests (with 253 regular season
5 starts), a record for NFL quarterbacks and the second-longest
6 recorded streak in the league; with 10 quarterbacks making
7 their initial NFL start in 2007, a total of 212 signal callers
8 have opened a game since Favre began his streak; and
 
9     WHEREAS, As the league's only three-time consecutive Most
10 Valuable Player, Brett Favre led the Packers to 11 playoff
11 appearances, including a club-record six in a row (1993 to
12 1998), seven division crowns, four NFC Championship Games, and
13 back-to-back Super Bowls appearances, as well as a World
14 Championship with a 35-21 victory over New England in Super
15 Bowl XXXI, returning the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay for the
16 first time in 29 years; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The former Southern Mississippi leader's success
18 is partially attributed to a commanding knowledge of his
19 offense, his astute observation of countless defenses designed
20 to stop him, and his physical ability, especially his renowned
21 arm strength and gunslinger mentality; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Brett Favre's legacy transcends the passes, the

 

 

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1 touchdowns, and the statistics; the inspiring leader will go
2 down as one of the most beloved players of his generation; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The swashbuckling Southerner embodies the heart
4 of America's favorite game; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Brett Favre topped the Harris Poll, in a survey of
6 American sports fans, as the nation's favorite football player
7 in 2006 and placed third among all sports figures, behind Tiger
8 Woods and Michael Jordan; and
 
9     WHEREAS, In February 2004, Brett Favre was named as the No.
10 1 'Toughest Athlete in Sports' by USA Today, and again in March
11 2004; in an issue of Men's Journal, he was chosen as the No. 1
12 'Toughest Guy in America' on the basis of his "fearlessness,
13 perseverance, a willingness to take risk, a tolerance for pain
14 and even a dash of modesty"; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Brett Favre was named the Sports Illustrated
16 Sportsman of the Year in 2007; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Brett Favre was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade
18 Team; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Brett Favre received the Chris Greicius Celebrity
20 Award from the Make a Wish Foundation in 2007 for "being a true

 

 

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1 standout, even among the many generous celebrities who help
2 create magical experiences for the kids who wish to meet them";
3 and
 
4     WHEREAS, Brett Favre was selected to be in the 2007 Pro
5 Bowl; his ninth Pro Bowl selections ties Forrest Gregg's team
6 record and is one less than Johnny Unitas' NFL record (10);
7 additionally, he was a was a seven-time All-Pro selection; and
 
8     WHEREAS, During the 2007 season, Joe Buck stated that Brett
9 Favre "led the league in smiles"; and
 
10     WHEREAS, One of the defining moments of Brett Favre's
11 career and arguably his greatest game ever took place on
12 December 22, 2003, in a Monday Night Football game against the
13 Oakland Raiders; the day before, on Sunday, December 21, 2003,
14 Brett's father Irvin Favre ran into a ditch and died near Kiln,
15 Mississippi; Favre elected to play the day after his father's
16 death; he passed for four touchdowns in the first half of the
17 game with 399 total yards in a 41-7 victory over the Raiders on
18 international television; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Brett Favre has solidified his standing among the
20 game's all-time elite by earning the NFL's 'MVP' honor a record
21 three times, capturing the Associated Press award over the
22 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons; he was a runner-up in 2002 as

 

 

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1 well; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Brett Favre collaborated with former Packers wide
3 receiver Antonio Freeman for 57 touchdown passes from 1995 to
4 2001, the sixth-best such duo in NFL history; from 1992 to
5 2004, he won at least eight games for an NFL-record 13
6 consecutive seasons, substantially better than the next
7 closest player, Ken Stabler, who had eight straight
8 .500-or-better seasons from 1973 to 1980; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Brett Favre is the NFL's most accurate passer
10 among those with at least 6,000 career attempts; his 61.4%
11 career completion percentage places him ahead of No. 2 Dan
12 Marino (59.4 percent); and
 
13     WHEREAS, With it being impossible for someone to better it,
14 Brett Favre will be the permanent possessor of at least one
15 all-time NFL record - that for longest pass completion - as he
16 hooked up with wideout Robert Brooks for a 99-yard score in a
17 1995 game; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Brett Favre finished his career as the NFL's
19 leader in career interceptions, with 288; additionally,
20 football fans and Packer fans alike insist that Favre's
21 interceptions should no longer be referred to as interceptions,
22 but "gunslings" instead; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, During his remarkable run, 17 different
2 quarterbacks have served as Brett Favre's backup in Green Bay;
3 chronologically, they are Majkowski (1992), Ty Detmer
4 (1992-95), Mark Brunell (1993-94), T.J. Rubley (1995), Bob
5 Gagliano (1995), Doug Pederson (1995-98, 2001-04), Jim McMahon
6 (1995-96), Steve Bono (1997), Rick Mirer (1998), Matt
7 Hasselbeck (1999-2000), Aaron Brooks (1999), Danny Wuerffel
8 (2000), Henry Burris (2001), Craig Nall (2002-05), Aaron
9 Rodgers (2005-06), Ingle Martin (2006), and Todd Bouman (2006);
10 only six times over the course of his streak has a backup had
11 to complete a game due to injury; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Brett Favre became the Packers starter in the
13 third week of the 1992 NFL season and never missed another
14 start; he played through knee, thumb, ankle and foot injuries,
15 overcame an addiction to alcohol and painkillers, soldiered on
16 through the loss of his father, his wife's bout with breast
17 cancer, and the loss of the family home in Mississippi in
18 Hurricane Katrina; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
21 recognize and applaud Brett Favre's accomplishments during his
22 17 seasons as an NFL quarterback, for his talent and grit
23 displayed on the field, and for his humility off the field; and

 

 

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1 be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
3 presented to Brett Favre, the Favre family, and the Green Bay
4 Packers Organization.